Ali Khamenei's Directive on 'Reforming the National Budget Structure in the Next Four Months'

Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a member of the Parliament's presiding board, commented on Ali Larijani's statements regarding Ali Khamenei's directive for reforming the country's structure within the next four months, stating that this directive pertains to budget structure reform. Iranian media reported on Wednesday that Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, during his visit to his constituency in Qom, stated that the Supreme Leader has issued a 'directive for the reform of structures in the country within the next four months.' Meanwhile, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh noted that after the draft budget bill for 1398 was submitted, Ali Khamenei wrote a letter to the Economic Coordination Council and the government, outlining six points of criticism and recommendations. According to this parliament member, in response to officials' comments regarding the lengthy nature of 'budget bill reform,' Khamenei wrote: 'I give you four months to do as much as you can for the presentation of the 98 budget bill; any matters that cannot be addressed should be submitted as an amendment bill in Ordibehesht (May).' This representative did not provide further details regarding the Supreme Leader's criticisms of the 1398 budget. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Joint Commission of the 1398 national budget bill approved the government's submitted bill with amendments and additions after expert reviews. Reports indicate that parliament members now have ten days to submit their proposals regarding this report for presentation in the open session of Parliament. President Hassan Rouhani's government submitted the 1398 national budget bill to the Islamic Consultative Assembly on January 5, and its review in the Joint Commission began on January 23. The final report of the Joint Commission on the 98 budget is set to be reviewed in Parliament's open session on February 18. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, previously stated in Azar (December) that Ali Khamenei had provided 'guidelines' regarding the budget bill. Previously, the prediction of Iran's oil revenues in light of U.S. sanctions has been cited as one of the main problems in the 98 budget. The Parliament Research Center had previously stated that the budget bill for the next solar year considers oil revenues at 142 trillion tomans, which is 32% higher than the current year in terms of rials. However, due to U.S. sanctions, Iran's oil exports have decreased by more than half. According to this report, the budget bill does not specify the exact amount of oil exports, exchange rates, and oil prices, leaving the door open for compensating for the budget deficit caused by falling oil exports through increased exchange rates.